Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the launch of Fit India Movement
My Cabinet colleague Shri Narendra Singh ji Tomar, Dr. Harsh Vardhan ji, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank ji and the leadership of this entire campaign, Shri Kiren Rijiju ji, all the senior dignitaries present here, all the stars of the sports world and my dear student brothers And sisters!
Some people might think that they do not go to school or to college, then why did Modi ji just address them as 'students'. You guys have come here, whatever is your age, but I believe your inner student is still alive.
Happy National Sports Day to all of you. On this day itself, we had received a great sports person in the form of Major Dhyan Chand. He mesmerized the world with his fitness, stamina and hockey stick. Today I pay my respects to Major Dhyanchand ji.
Today, I congratulate the Ministry of Sports, Youth Department for the important step towards a Healthy India and for launching such an initiative, Fit India Movement, which is an important step towards this concept.
There were messages of fitness every moment in this presentation delivered today. The presentation also talked about how we can keep ourselves fit by reminding us of traditions in the best way. And these things have been presented so well that I feel no need of deliver my speech. If we make all the things or even a couple of these things mentioned here in the presentation a part of life; I do not believe that I will need to preach anything for fitness.
I congratulate everyone for this excellent work, for this best kind of presentation, and also those who have conceptualized it, have added new looks to it and have painstakingly presented it. I would like a good professional video being created out of it in the future, and be shown in all schools and colleges so that a mass movement is created.
Friends, this day is also to congratulate our young players, who are constantly giving new heights to the glory of the tri-color on the world stage. Be it Badminton, Tennis, Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling or other sports, our players are giving new wings to our expectations and aspirations. The medals won, is not only the result of their tenacity and penance, but also a measure of new enthusiasm and new confidence of New India. I am glad that the efforts made to create a better environment for India's sports in the last five years are visible to us today.
Sports is directly related to fitness. But the Fit India Movement that has started today has expanded beyond sports. Fitness is not a word but a necessary condition of a healthy and prosperous life. In our culture there has always been a lot of emphasis on fitness. We have given priority to measures for better health, refraining after a disease. Fitness has been a comfortable part of our lives. And here, our ancestors, and companions have repeatedly said -
व्यायामात् लभते स्वास्थ्यं दीर्घायुष्यं बलं सुखं।
आरोग्यं परमं भाग्यं स्वास्थ्यं सर्वार्थसाधनम्॥
That is, one gets health, long life, strength and happiness by exercising. Being healthy is the ultimate destiny, and all other tasks get accomplished by health. But definitions have changed over time - earlier we were taught, we used to hear that all tasks are accomplished by health, now we get to hear that all works are accomplished by selfishness. And so it is necessary to make a collective effort to turn this selfishness back to health.
I know that some people must be thinking that fitness is important, we also know that, and then what is the need of such a sudden movement? Friends, there is a need and perhaps the need is even more dire today. Fitness has been an integral part of our way of life, but it is also true that over time, there has been apathy in our society regarding fitness.
I give you an example of how times have changed. Till a few decades ago, a normal person would walk 8-10 kilometres in a day, or ride a cycle for a few hours, or would sometimes run to catch a bus. That is, physical activity used to be easy in life. Then gradually technology changed, modern means arrived on the scene and the person's walking was reduced. Physical activity decreased considerably. And what is the situation now? Technology has led us to such a condition that we are moving less and the same technology tells us the number of steps that you walked today, 5000 steps have not been completed yet, 2000 steps have not been completed, and we keep watching mobile phones. How many of you present here do that - keeping a check on 5000 or 10000 steps? There would be many people who must have worn this type of a watch or have downloaded these apps on the mobile phone and check their steps on mobile every day.
Many of you are alert and cautious, but there are also a large number of people in the country who are so busy in their daily lives that they cannot focus on their fitness. And some of them are even more special. You might have seen some things become fashion statements. And so there are friends who sit at the dining table, eat heavy meals, often double the required amount and talk about dieting very comfortably. At least ten days in a month you will feel that you are sitting at the dining table, overeating and giving long lectures on dieting. That is, these people also talk excitedly and keep buying gadgets related to it and they feel that if they have such new gadgets, probably they will become fit. And you must have seen that there will be a huge gym in their houses, everything related to fitness will be there but servants have to be kept for cleaning the equipment because they never enter that gym and after a few days put those things in the farthest room of the house. People are also expert in downloading fitness apps on mobiles, but after a few days, they never even see that app.
I was born in Gujarat. We had a very good comedy writer here in Gujarat named Jyotindra bhai Dave. He used to write interesting satires. And mostly he used to write satires on himself. Well, he used to describe his body and say - whenever I stand somewhere, or stand near the wall, people thought that some clothes were hanging on a hanger. Because, he was so thin that it seemed like clothes are hung on a hangar and so no one was ready to believe that it was a human being standing there. Then he used to write - if I step out of the house, I walk with stones in my pocket. He wore coats, and all of the pockets were filled with stones. So people thought, maybe he would throw stones and hit people. So people used to ask him - why do you carry so many stones? So he said - I am afraid that the wind might blow him away. He used to write such funny things. Once someone told him that instead of walking around with stones, you should do a little exercise and go to the gym. So he asked the gentleman how much exercise should be done. He said, just get a little sweated to at least start it first. Go to the gym and sweat it out. So he said - Okay, will go tomorrow. So the other day he said - I reached the gymnasium and those wrestlers started their wrestling in the arena. So he said - After going there, as he started looking at those wrestlers, he started sweating so I thought I completed my exercise. That is, it is definitely a joke but it is also telling us about maintaining good health. However, some concerns are even bigger.
Today, many lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension are increasing in India. Sometimes we hear that a child of 12-15 years in the family has become a diabetic patient. Look around you, you will find many people suffering from these diseases. Earlier we used to hear that the risk of heart attack increases after the age of 50-60, but today sometimes we hear that a 30 year, 35 years, or a 40 years old son and daughter are dying of heart attacks. This situation is indeed very worrisome, but there is also a ray of hope. Now you will wonder how am I talking about the ray of hope even in the midst of these diseases. I am a very positive person by nature. So I find some good things out of that too.
Lifestyle diseases are occurring due to lifestyle disorder. Now we can change Lifestyle disorder by changing the lifestyle. There are many diseases that we can avoid, by making small changes in our daily routine, and by changing our lifestyle, we can keep them away. Fit India Movement is basically a movement for motivating people to make these changes. And this is not a government movement. The government will pursue this subject as a catalytic agent, but in every way the agenda of every family should be concerning this. It should become the topic of discussion of every family. If the businessman calculates how much he earns every month, or the family concerned about education discusses the marks of the son; in the same way, physical labour, physical exercise and physical fitness, should also become a matter of discussion in everyday life within the family.
And friends, this is not particularly something that is needed only in India. And this change is coming not only in India. The need for such campaigns is being felt all over the world today. Many countries are running big campaigns to increase awareness about fitness. In our neighbourhood, i.e. in China - Healthy China 2030 is being implemented on mission mode. That is, by 2030, every citizen of China should be fit. And for this, they have prepared a complete time table. Similarly, to increase the physical activity of Australians and to change the inactive and lazy nature of its citizens, they have set the goal that by 2030, 15 per cent of the citizens will be taken out of laziness and made fit. The campaign is going on vigorously in the UK as per which by 2020, 5 lakh new people should join daily exercise routine. By 2021, America is working to connect one thousand cities with free fitness campaign. In Germany too, a major campaign named 'fit instead of fat' is going on.
I have named only a few countries. Many countries have already started working on it. People in all these countries understand the need for fitness, yet they have started special campaigns there. Think - why? Because not only some people will be fit, but the country will benefit only by staying fit. Every citizen of New India should be fit, and should use his/her energy not in the treatment of diseases but in advancing oneself and the family, and taking the country forward. We have to move forward in this direction.
When you set a goal in life, then our life starts to mould according to that goal. Life changes, our habits become like that, our routines become like that. We have a habit of getting up at eight o'clock in the morning, but if you have to catch a flight at 6 o'clock in the morning, or a train at 6 o'clock, then we get up, get ready and leave. If a student aims at a score for 10th or 12th board, then you must have seen that he starts making major changes in himself. To achieve his goal, his laziness ceases, his sitting capacity increases, his concentration capacity increases. He reduces his time spent with friends gradually, changes his eating habits a little. He stops watching TV, that is, he starts moulding his life because of the goal in his mind.
Similarly, if someone makes wealth creation the goal of his life, then his life also changes. He spends twenty-four hours achieving his goal. Similarly, when one becomes fitness conscious and health conscious, if the mind decides once - I will not get tired at all, I will walk, I will run, I will climb and will not stop. You see, gradually your life routine also starts becoming the same. And then the person stays away from such things that harm the body because a consciousness comes inside it, he becomes aware. So, he will never be under the grip of drugs. Drugs will never be cool or a style statement for him.
Swami Vivekananda also used to say that if there is purpose in life, and if you work towards it with full passion then good health, happiness and prosperity will find way in your life as its by-product. To achieve the purpose of our life, it is equally important to have a passion, and a will. When we work with passion, with a purpose, we move forward. Then success is certainly ours. And you must have also heard that saying on success - There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs. That is, even in this saying you have been asked to climb the steps of the ladder. You will be able to climb steps only when you are fit, otherwise if the lift is not working, you will think - man, I will not go today, who will climb stairs up to the fourth floor?
The relationship between success and fitness is complementary to each other. Take any field today, look at your icons, see their success stories, whether they are in sports, films, business, most of them are fit. This is not just a coincidence. If you read about their lifestyle, you will find that one thing is common among them. The common character of successful people is their focus on fitness and their faith in fitness. You must have seen many popular doctors as well who perform operations on many patients for 10-12 hours a day. Many entrepreneurs hold one meeting in one city in the morning, and the other meetings in another city, but there is no sign of stress on their faces. They work with equal alertness. In any profession, if you want to bring efficiency in your work, then mental and physical fitness are very important. Whether it is Boardroom or Bolly wood, whoever is fit touches the sky. If the body is fit, then mind is hit!
Friends,
When we pay attention to fitness, and try to keep ourselves healthy by focusing on fitness, then it gives us a chance to understand our body as well. It is surprising, but we know very little about our body, our strengths, and weaknesses. So when we embark upon our journey towards fitness, we begin to understand our body better. And I have seen many people who have known and recognized the power of their body. This has also boosted their confidence, which has helped them in building a better personality.
Even though the government has started the Fit India campaign, it is for all of you to lead it. The people of the country will carry forward this campaign and will reach great heights of success. I can say from my personal experience that it needs zero Investment, but the returns are unlimited.
The Human Resource Development Minister and the Rural Development Minister are also present here. I have a special request to them - this campaign should reach every village and every Panchayat of the country, as well as every school in the country. This campaign is not just of a ministry or just of the government, whether it is the central or the state government, the municipality, the Panchayat, any party, or any ideology. There should not be a problem for anyone when it comes to fitness. The whole country, every family should emphasize upon this. We have just seen in this programme, that besides fitness, valour has also being given immense importance, but unfortunately due to limited and narrow thinking; we have derailed such a vehicle from our traditions. For example, the when the people who are 60-70 or 80 years of age, used to study in school, they were taught 'S' for sword. Later some intelligent people raised a controversy, a result of narrow thinking, and said if you teach 'sword' to children it can lead to a violent attitude in them. So what to do, then the word sword, was taken out and was replaced by something else. That is, how we have hurt our great traditions, as well as physical strength and fitness too deeply psychologically.
And so I would like fitness to be considered as the standard of success for a family and must consider fitness as a festival, and as a part of life. Fitness should also be a standard in the successes of a person's life. We must move ahead with this spirit and I would like to urge the state governments to come forward to expand the Fit India Movement more and more and to take it to the far-flung areas of the country, to our schools, offices, by raising awareness of fitness among the people of your state, and by mobilizing the necessary resources for them. We have to motivate more and more people to give some time daily to fitness. Healthy people, healthy families and healthy society, this is the way to make the New India the best India. Just like you have made Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a part of your life, similarly Fit India Movement has to be a part of your life.
Come, take this resolution today, take this pledge that you will remain fit, and also encourage your family, friends, neighbours, and everyone you know to be fit. If I am fit then India too will be fit.
With this one request, I once again convey my best wishes to the countrymen for this campaign and I urge the people who lead in every section of the society to come forward, strengthen this movement, and be a partner in making the society healthy. With this one expectation and best wishes, I thank you very much.